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Articles Posted in Human Resources Policies

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Huge $5M EEOC settlement spotlights an enforcement priority that you may be overlooking

In late December of 2012, the EEOC approved its Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2013-2016. Sadly, one of the agency’s enforcement priorities has been ignored on this blog. Until now. Protecting Immigrant, Migrant and Other Vulnerable Workers. There are six EEOC enforcement priorities. While there is no hierarchy among the six,…

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POLL: Should Congress require companies to provide paid family and medical leave from work?

  Last week, President Obama signed an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to provide paid sick leave. More on that here. The Department of Labor has a roadshow and social media campaign, through which it is touting the benefits of paid family and medical leave. And the Family and Medical Insurance…

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Under the ADA, can you fire an alcoholic who doesn’t request treatment?

An alcoholic employee can present a number of tricky legal issues affecting the workplace. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, there’s a certain dichotomy. That is, alcoholism is a disability under the Act. However, an employer can ban alcohol in the workplace and require that employees not be under the…

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REMINDER: Philadelphia’s Paid Sick Time law goes into effect today

If you are a Philadelphia employer, check out my post from February and this poster. While the new law requires employers of 10 or more to provide paid sick leave, those with 9 or few employees must still provide unpaid sick leave. If you haven’t done so already, update your employee…

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When might firing a medicinal marijuana user be discriminatory?

Ok. Let’s assume that I’m looking to fill another Blogprentice position here at the Bloggerdome. [FYI – The Blogprentice’s job is to massage my scalp during those brief periods of writer’s block or when I get the vapors, rub my feet at all other times, plus whatever tasks, reasonable or…

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English-only rules may be discriminatory….and violate federal labor law too.

A few years ago, I posed the question: Is a workplace “English-only” rule legal?  Yadda, yadda, yadda, sometimes. That is, in this Compliance Manual, the EEOC confirms that employers may adopt English-only rules under certain circumstances, insofar as it is adopted for nondiscriminatory reasons (e.g., safety, business necessity) and not to discriminate…

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Does a company invade an employee’s privacy by accessing personal texts on a work-issued iPad?

This “invasion of privacy” question is the lynchpin of a new lawsuit from two former employees of one of the largest beer companies in the world. The complaint (available here), which began in state court, has been removed to federal court in New Jersey. David Gialanella, reporting for the New Jersey…